Parkway Drive brings dream lineup to Montreal

This past Sunday night Montreal played host to a dream lineup for metalcore fans, featuring Parkway Drive, August Burns Red, The Devil Wears Prada, and Polaris. A show that sold out as soon as the tickets were released months ago, this was a concert that many have been anticipating for some time.

Polaris were up first and provided one of the best opening sets I’ve seen in a long time. Usually crowds are a lot smaller for the opener, but this wasn’t the case, as the entire floor was a moshpit for the set. Being the first of two bands from down under, the Sydney metalcore group played several of their hits off their 2017 breakthrough album The Mortal Coil. Polaris are on the come-up and will be a household name in metal if they keep up performances like this one.

Juggernauts of the scene The Devil Wears Prada were up next on the bill, with a completely different energy from the previous act.  Releasing a slew of music in the past few years such as Transit Blues and The Space EP, the band strives on making albums with themes in mind. The theatre erupted after the band started the song Anatomy, from their critically acclaimed Zombie EP, before digging into to a few classics such as I Hate Buffering and Danger: Wildman. The only criticism fans could come up with is that they were hoping to hear a song or two off Plagues or Dear Love, which as someone who has had the band in their music rotation since they began 13 years ago I agreed wholeheartedly. No matter, as TDWP always put on energetic live shows and this one was no different.

August Burns Red have always been a favourite in Montreal, with the band making a stop in town on almost every tour. Coming off two straight years of Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance, this band is one you want to experience in concert. On ever album, August Burns Red push the envelop of metalcore, combining an array of influences from salsa to bluegrass in musical interludes at points in their songs. Vocalist Jake Luhrs took these moments to shed the usual tough guy look of metal and has some fun with them, whether it be through dancing or acting like a puppet master with his mic. You could stop the show right after August Burns Red, and it would have been an amazing lineup. But, there was still another headliner to come.

Byron Bay’s Parkway Drive have been at the top of metalcore for a long time, ever since Horizons was released back in 2007. It is always amazing to hear what bands have to say about playing in Montreal, especially at the MTELUS. After several songs into the set, lead vocalist Winston McCall shook his head with mix of shock and gratefulness on his face “…So many bands that we talk to say this, that Montreal is always their favourite show of the tour…” which lead another classic Olé Olé Olé chant from the crowd.

Parkway Drive’s latest release entitled Reverence actually has an Ottawa connection, as it was recorded at All Buttons In Recording Studio in Barrhaven, along with their previous album Ire in 2015. The band played Wishing Wells, Prey, The Void and a few others off the latest release, before going into some fan favourites. Songs such as Carrion, Karma, Dead Mans Chest and Idols and Anchors sent the audience into a frenzy, starting huge circle pits and plenty of crowd surfing. Finishing off the set, the band and crowd became one for the song Wild Eyes, before ending with an encore featuring Bottom Feeder.

Parkway Drive and the rest of the bands provided a wild night of metal to an equally wild crowd. After the show the band summed up things on social media saying ‘This show sold out in minutes and was absolutely crazy! Might need a bigger venue next time…’